stephen reck - technology&education

donate gift cards.

plastic jungle, a website that allows the purchase, sale, or exchange of gift cards, claims the average american household has $400 in unwanted gift cards lying around. there are millions of gift cards throughout the country with low remaining value. if you can't figure out what to do with the remaining $11.86 on a gap card, donate it. owners of idle gift cards typically use plastic jungle to exchange unwanted cards for cash or amazon.com credit, but a new option is now available. you can donate the full value of your gift card to a school in need with plastic jungle's new partnership with donorschoose.org.

mobileme.

welcome to cloud computing. cloud computing is seen by many as the way we will use computers in the near future. no longer will software applications be housed on a computer's hard drive. instead, programs will be housed & accessed online through a web browser. mobileme is a service provided by apple that houses several web applications, online backup storage, wireless synchronization, & many other features. this service stores information in a "cloud" & pushes the information to your cell phone, computer, or online portal. the service costs $99 a year & it can be a teacher's best friend.

yacapaca.

yacapaca is an online test & quiz generator. it is free to access. teachers only need to create a log in account. yacapaca has hundreds of pre-made quizzes ready for classroom use. users can sort by keyword or subject to find specific topics. teachers can also choose to create their own quizzes. custom quizzes can be made of entirely new content or questions can be imported from pre-made quizzes. there are many easy ways to construct online quizzes, surveys, & tests using yacapaca.

obama's dollars for reform.

president obama & his education secretary, arne duncan, are attempting to influence state education law through the promise of federal stimulus funding. ultimately, their goal is to increase the number of charter schools & hold teachers accountable for standardized test scores. this continues the debate over the role of standardized tests in our education system, a debate that has raged since former president george w bush's landmark no child left behind legislation. some states, such as california, are already in the process of overturning laws that prohibit the use of standardized test scores to determine a teacher's effectiveness in order to receive federal dollars. obama's new plan will place an even greater emphasis on high-stakes tests.

umapper.

umapper is a map-authoring web 2.0 application that makes it extremely simple to create maps. the maps can be visited by supplying a user with its url or the author can embed the map into a wiki or website. umapper uses adobe's flash technology to easily display custom information. teachers can quickly produce maps, add relevant information, & share with students without the need to create an account, sign in, or download any specific software. umapper is a great tool.